—Systemic change begins with personal change—
Nadeem is my second listener to come on as a guest. In his words:
My name is Nadeem Akhtar, born in Pakistan. Moved to Norway when I was seven years old with my mother. My father had emigrated to Norway in 1971, and we were the first Pakistani family in a small town, called Rjukan, Telemark county. It was good a place to grow up for all of us (my parents, older sister and brother).
Later I studied in California state University, Fresno. Completed bachelor degree and post-baccalaureate in Business Administration (Finance and minor in International Marketing). Came back to Norway in 1992 and settled in Oslo, Norway where I live with my wife and two children. I am civil servant working for the Norwegian Public Road Administration (NPRA).
In my free-time I like jogging, going for walks in the woods, along lakes, and also doing some voluntary work for people with disability.
Nadeem committed to reducing his doof. He bravely shares the challenge. Even in Norway, he's surrounded by messages to keep consuming it. Imagine any other unhealthy addictive substance---cocaine, heroin, etc---was advertised and sold everywhere. On top of extra availability, imagine it was portrayed as like food, which it isn't. Nadeem stopped drinking alcohol long ago despite its prevalence in Norwegian culture, and compares how avoiding doof was harder. If you're struggling with getting clean from doof, you'll appreciate hearing what it's like. He also shares more about living as a Muslim in Norway.
Nadeem contacted me as a listener to suggest Abdal Hakim Murad as a guest, as I hadn't hosted any Muslims on the podcast by then. I learned a lot and enjoyed meeting Abdal, plus Nadeem and I stayed in touch. When Janet Allaker's first episode with a listener went well, I invited Nadeem to be a guest. He loved the opportunity. I think we both enjoyed the conversation. If you're a regular listener, you'll get to hear another voice from your position. You'll get to hear another listener's views on sustainability and this podcast. Nadeem cares enough to act, though not as much as me. He listens to This Sustainable to ground him and inspire more sustainability work. We talk about what motivates him, religion, family, Norway, and of course do the Spodek Method. I think you'll find some similarities and differences in his approach and stick with the podcast.